The VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) is an electronic means of transmitting information relating to

VAT A value-added tax (VAT or goods and services tax (GST), general consumption tax (GCT)) is a consumption tax that is levied on the value added at each stage of a product's production and distribution. VAT is similar to, and is often compared wi ...

registration (i.e., validity of VAT numbers) of companies registered in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. EU law requires that, where goods or services are procured within the EU by a VAT taxpayer, VAT must be paid only in the member state where the purchaser resides, while in other cases, VAT must be paid in the member state where the supplier resides. For this reason, suppliers need an easy way to validate the VAT numbers presented by purchasers. This validation is performed through VIES. VIES does not itself maintain a VAT number database. Instead, it forwards the VAT number validation query to the database of the member state concerned and, upon reply, it transmits back to the inquirer the information provided by the member state. This information includes at least a "YES/NO" answer on the existence and validity of the supplied number. It may also include additional information, such as the holder's name and address, if this is provided by the member state. VIES optionally provides a unique reference number which can be used to prove to a tax authority that a particular VAT number was confirmed at time of purchase. A negative VIES validation result does not necessarily mean, however, that the VAT number of the purchaser is invalid. For example, the Polish law stipulates that an EU VAT number (registered in VIES) must only be obtained by the Polish VAT taxpayers performing intra-community acquisition of goods worth PLN 50′000 or more in a year. All other Polish VAT taxpayers may use the ordinary Polish NIP number (without the PL prefix and VIES registration) instead when performing their intra-community acquisitions (purchases), in spite of the fact that VIES will return a negative validation. Moreover, a VAT taxpayer with a VIES registration who declares PLN 0 worth of intra-community acquisitions in three consecutive months will automatically be delisted from VIES. Therefore, when the VIES validation returns a negative result, only the validation at the national level of the VAT taxpayer status of a NIP number may decisively clarify its validity as a valid VAT number (status check available freely a

.

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

all provide such services at national level.

External links

VIES website

VIES details

Software for bulk VAT number verification

Excel Add-in from official Microsoft AppStore for bulk VAT number verification

Traders guide on VAT VIES

References

Information systems Information technology organizations based in Europe Taxation in the European Union Value added taxes {{Tax-stub